One of them is to an opinion piece in “Newsweek” published toward the end of December. The author is Robert Reich, secretary of labor under Bill Clinton and current political commentator at large.

In his article, Reich identifies four ways in which Trump is attempting to control the media:

Berate the media and turn the public against it

Limit media access

Threaten the media

Bypass the media and communicate with the public directly

As an example of the first bullet point, Reich writes, “Trump refers to journalists as ‘dishonest,’ ‘disgusting’ and ‘scum.’” Granted, the style of criticism may be harsh, even (perish the thought!) “unpresidential,” but is it unique to Trump?

In this election, [white working class voters] turned out in huge numbers for Trump. And I think that part of it has to do with our inability, our failure, to reach those voters effectively. Part of it is Fox News in every bar and restaurant in big chunks of the country….

This was one of his most benign denigrations of Fox News, which he savaged early and often throughout his eight years in the Oval Office. He never called Fox News “dishonest” or “disgusting,” but he did call the network “destructive” in a 2010 interview with that pinnacle of journalistic integrity, Rolling Stone:

Look, as president, I swore to uphold the Constitution, and part of that Constitution is a free press. We’ve got a tradition in this country of a press that oftentimes is opinionated. The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part of that tradition — it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view. It’s a point of view that I disagree with. It’s a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.

As evidence of his second point — limit media access — Reich writes that “Trump hasn’t had a news conference since July. (His two predecessors had news conferences within days of being declared president.)” But holding a press conference in the first few days of a presidency is a cakewalk. As newly elected leader of the free world, you have the wind at your back and a clean slate. What is critical is how available a president makes himself to the media once he has begun formulating policy and working with other branches of government, especially Congress…

Howard Portnoy is the Editor of LibertyUnyielding. He has written for HotAir, NewsBusters, Weasel Zippers, Conservative Firing Line, RedCounty, and New York’s Daily News. He has one published novel, Hot Rain, (G. P. Putnam’s Sons), and has been a guest on Radio Vice Online with Jim Vicevich, The Alana Burke Show, Smart Life with Dr. Gina, and The George Espenlaub Show.

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